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Why the “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Series Finale is a Cruel Joke [Spoilers]

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Back in 1992, Sam Raimi took his Evil Dead franchise in a new direction with Army of Darkness, a full-on slapstick horror film that sent Ash (Bruce Campbell) back in time to battle a medieval undead army. While the theatrical version of the film ended with Ash battling a deadite inside S-Mart, the original finale was much darker. After Ash takes too many drops of a special potion, he pulls a Rip Van Winkle and awakens 100 years in a post-apocalyptic future. No matter which ending you prefer, Raimi and Campbell teased a fourth Evil Dead, which became fan obsession. For nearly 20 years we begged and pleaded for an Evil Dead 4

In 2003, things took an interesting turn with the success of Freddy vs. Jason, which nearly resulted in a sequel that would pit Ash against Freddy and Jason. Only, Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures had huge success with their remake of The Grudge, which then caused them to turn their focus on rebooting The Evil Dead with a fresh filmmaker. While we were blessed with the Fede Alvarez-directed Evil Dead back in 2013, it wasn’t timely and was extremely underappreciated – it still wasn’t our long-promised Evil Dead 4, even if Ash made an appearance in the closing of the credits.

Just two years later, on October 31, 2015, Starz premiered “Ash vs. Evil Dead”, which boasted the full-on return of Bruce Campbell as Ash. While it wasn’t Evil Dead 4, it was exactly what the doctor ordered… and then some. A full season of Ash kicking deadite ass? Yes, please. We were then blessed with two more seasons, which just concluded this past Sunday night. Shit, we got a remake and literally 10+ hours of a television series, not to mention Raimi also sneaking the wonderful Drag Me to Hell into the mix back in 2009.

To recap, our bellies are full, right? Nope. 

Coming from a place of love and eternal gratefulness of what we’ve already been given, I can’t help but feel like the series finale to “Ash vs. Evil Dead” is anything short of a cruel joke. You see, the final episode concluded with a sequence in which, after a long sleep, Ash wakes up in a post-apocalyptic future. Does that sound familiar? When Army of Darkness concluded, we were left with hope and spent many excruciating years begging for a followup. With “Ash vs. Evil Dead”, we were left with a cliffhanger and Campbell announcing the retirement of his character. There’s a ton of irony here in that we got everything we could have ever wanted and yet somehow came full circle back to Ash in a post-apocalyptic Detroit and are left begging for more. The only difference is now we’re left with no hope, which is just cruel.

I’m left wondering how this happened? Was this the plan all along? Were Raimi, Tapert and Campbell giggling as they brought us full circle back to our fandom purgatory? If so, it’s such cosmic brutality that I can’t help but laugh. On the other hand, it sort of feels like Starz put the filmmakers in a weird position of not knowing for sure if there would be a fourth season of “Ash vs. Evil Dead”. The announcement came just ahead of the ninth episode airing, which means, assuming this decision was actually made that week, everything was already delivered for airing. Then again, if Raimi and co. had plans laid out for another season, why would Campbell so quickly turn in his chainsaw and boomstick?

It’s highly unlikely that the Evil Dead will say dormant, but it does feel like a kick in the nuts to know that we’ll never actually see Ash’s arc carried to a full conclusion.

Then again, perhaps that’s always been the franchise’s cruel destiny.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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